This passage from the Old Testament today describes a huge ‘Cinderella” story of great significance for the Jewish people. The anointing of David by God through the engagement of Samuel was a rebuke of Saul falling away from his faith. In Samuel’s task, evaluating the sons of Jesse, even he fell into the trap of only looking at the outward appearance of a person as a criterion to be used in determining who is worthy of being a king. The lesson we must learn is that we can’t read the secrets of another’s heart and we often do only judge on outward appearance. Samuel needed to know his natural inclination was judge only on outward appearance, but he didn’t have to give into it. He could seek the Lord and seek God’s heart and mind when looking at people. This is as it is for us. God was exhorting Samuel to Godly thinking. God can judge a person’s inner life and their inner heart. While God does not ask us to have that gift, the imperative is not to let the outward appearance—indeed the values of the world—interfere with our getting a sense of the real nature of the people God brings into our lives. We also often tend to pick our leaders based on our society's norms about appearance. For example, for the last century or more, the taller of the two final presidential candidates has almost always won. What a powerful, message that this text has to offer us and our times!

“Do not judge from his appearance of from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because he sees the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart.”

There is also a lesson for us in David himself. David, the future King of Israel, was tending sheep as he was brought before Samuel. Keeping sheep was a servant’s job. A shepherd has time to think and contemplate God’s creation. A shepherd has a special heart for the flock, and a special trust in God in the midst of the dangers that the flock may face. David’s years keeping the sheep were not wasted. It was a time of preparation and training as David became great king over Israel because he never lost his shepherd’s heart.